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Initiative seeks to challenge Trump's online megaphone
The Washington Post ^ | Isaac Stanley-Becker

Posted on 05/02/2020 12:20:28 PM PDT by bitt

A new Democratic-aligned political action committee advised by retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is planning to deploy technology originally developed to counter Islamic State propaganda in service of a domestic political goal - to combat online efforts to promote President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The group, Defeat Disinfo, will use artificial intelligence and network analysis to map discussion of the president's claims on social media. It will seek to intervene by identifying the most popular counter-narratives and boosting them through a network of more than 3.4 million influencers across the country - in some cases paying users with large followings to take sides against the president.

The initiative reflects fears within the Democratic Party that Trump's unwavering digital army may help sustain him through the pandemic, as it has through past controversies, even as the economy craters, tens of thousands have died, and Trump suffers in the polls.

"It's often said campaigns are a battle of ideas, but they're really a battle of narratives," said David Eichenbaum, a Democratic media consultant who is a senior adviser to the PAC. "Today those narratives spread quickly online."

The initiative is run by Curtis Hougland, whose received initial funding for the technology from DARPA, the Pentagon's research arm, as part of an effort to combat extremism overseas. He insists Democrats are ill-prepared for the looming battle over information and attention, which is bound to play an outsize role in November.

Hougland cites as an example Trump's suggestion last week that injecting bleach or other household disinfectants could be a treatment for the novel coronavirus - a moment that appeared unequivocally damaging to the president but was less clear-cut as it unfolded on social media. Although the episode was associated with a spike

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 1stamendment; 2020election; agitprop; ai; coronavirus; curtishougland; darpa; davideichenbaum; defeatdisinfo; eichenbaum; freespeech; guncontrol; gungrabbers; highland; hoagland; influencers; internet; isaacstanleybecker; mcchrystal; mutiny; orwell; propagandists; prostitutes; sedition; stanleybecker; stanleymcchrystal; technotyranny; treason; washpo
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To: Rdct29

I once saw a piece about McChrystal on “CBS Sunday Morning”
several years ago.

The ahole was all in favor of banning semi-automatic rifles from being owned by the citizens.

He is a gun grabbing sack of crap.


21 posted on 05/02/2020 12:54:02 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (I'm triggered by liberals and other assorted moonbats.)
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To: Lisbon1940

The author is in the habit of creating narratives himself.


22 posted on 05/02/2020 12:55:27 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge.)
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To: bitt

How very Soviet.


23 posted on 05/02/2020 12:57:41 PM PDT by Mr. Rabbit
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To: bitt
The law which prevented the CIA and State Department weaponization of the media to be used against the American and global public has not been restored since it was rescinded in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Reference: https://www.businessinsider.com/ndaa-legalizes-propaganda-2012-5?r=DE&IR=T

There's a lot of automated opposition posting as we speak, our tax dollars used against us.

24 posted on 05/02/2020 12:59:34 PM PDT by disclaimer
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To: bitt

Should call it the Bag of Pus Clinton disinformation initiative.


25 posted on 05/02/2020 1:07:36 PM PDT by RetiredTexasVet
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To: bitt

sounds like treason


26 posted on 05/02/2020 1:09:44 PM PDT by RaginRak
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To: piasa
Hougland apparently is the founder of a left-wing outfit dedicated to finding ways to suppress Trump's speech.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/pathetic-tech-company-paying-influencers-to-tune-out-trumps-super-bowl-ad/

27 posted on 05/02/2020 1:15:16 PM PDT by Bernard Marx
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To: bitt
"retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan"


28 posted on 05/02/2020 1:18:55 PM PDT by clearcarbon
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To: bitt

The headline is misleading. Trump doesn’t control the news and information on the internet. Leftists control most of the information on the internet.


29 posted on 05/02/2020 1:20:22 PM PDT by Crucial
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To: piasa
***Special Forces Association Rips Patraeus, McCrystal For Gun Control Betrayal***

Sad... Obamanistas ... Clintonistas... for some reason. Petraeus was leveraged I fear. All those FISA security breaches + WJC era FBI files {Craig Livingston} sigh

30 posted on 05/02/2020 1:24:33 PM PDT by Bob Ireland (The Democrap Party is the enemy of freedom.They use all the seductions and deceits of the Bolshevics)
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin
“Ah, “influencers.” So THAT is the liberal code word for propagandists these days”

When the Russians did it they called interference and collusion.

31 posted on 05/02/2020 1:32:04 PM PDT by seowulf
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To: seowulf
When the Russians did it they called interference and collusion.

When Clinton did it for Yeltsin, the press cheered.


32 posted on 05/02/2020 1:33:56 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: bitt

These people are evil.

Not sure we have one more generation left of this great country.

We have already almost completely destroyed ourselves from within.


33 posted on 05/02/2020 1:50:26 PM PDT by comebacknewt (Trump trumps Hate)
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To: bitt
A little background first:

The Deep State's  Department of Defence and CIA  (e.g., Clinton, Obama and more) backed the development of LifeLog, a social media site intended to surveille the public electronically by getting them to volunteer and share socially information that the weaponized intel would harvest.

See if you can perceive the similarities between DARPA's LifeLog program and Facebook:

LIFELOG captures, stores, and makes accessible the flow of one person's experience in and interactions with the world in order to support a broad spectrum of associates/assistants and other system capabilities. The objective of the LifeLog concept was "to be able to trace the 'threads' of an individual's life in terms of events, states, and relationships", and it has the ability to "take in all of a subject's experience, from phone numbers dialed and e-mail messages viewed to every breath taken, step made and place gone".

The Deep State feared the public might not go for an intel backed social media site ans so Facebook was created as a friendly front.

DARPA TERMINATES LIFELOG PROGRAM FEB 4, 2004.
FaceBook FOUNDED FEB 4, 2004.

Wired.com articles cannot be posted to FR but hosts an eye opening article titled: Pentagon Kills LifeLog Project

Facebook Hired a Former DARPA Head To Lead An Ambitious New Research Lab

Now, "All your life's experiences are belong to us!" But Hillary lost the 2016 election and President Trump is dismantling the Deep State's grip on American surveillance. The head of DARPA was forced out in 2019, but tools DARPA developed are still around, according to SFGate.com's  gleeful article bragging about the use use of DARPA AI approaching the 2020 election!

DARPA head resigns, moving on to industry

DoD's DARPA funds, otherwise known as tax payer dollars, helped build Google and many other aspects of social media. Those "assets" are also being used to attack President Trump and silence Patriots.DARPA funds, otherwise known as tax payer dollars, helped build Google and many other aspects of social media, AI, and technology. Those "assets" are also being used to attack President Trump and silence Patriots.

Google’s true origin partly lies in CIA and NSA research grants for mass surveillance

Isn't it nice to realize that creeps like Zuckerberg didn't just come up with these ideas in the garage or at college - they were total front men for DARPA/DOD.

In the article above, McChrystal is advising the the 2020 "initiative" called Defeat Disinfo, which is run by Curtis Houghland, who is proud of the fact that he's using DARPA AI to try to manipulate public opinion approaching the 2020 election - the Dems are desparate as they are losing control of the MSM/Social Media lies/narrative.

Since the public was able to watch the video conference the president gave wherein bleach was mentioned, so we rejected Deep State assertions that President Trump told us to inject bleach into our bodies. Dems and other deep staters are worried about our direct access that refutes the MSM lockstep "narrative" so they have amassed a network of 3.4 million digital "influencers" to counter whatever President Trump says or does because we the people shouldn't be allowed to just listen to what President Trump says and decide for ourselves. And of course, DARPA AI will trace those who pro-Trump readers trust as sources of information and "target" them for counter narratives and as Houghland says, some of those 3.4 million "digital influencers" countering pro-Trump sites and users will be paid operatives.

The CIA and Pentagon wallowed in tax payer funds for decades building AI and other surveillance systems to topple governments overseas and disrupt/surveille Americanss' lives, including swinging elections domestically. Houghland says in the article that the AI he is deploying was originally paid for with DARPA funds to combat, in part, "Islamic Extremism". What gives him, the Dems or the Deep State the right to use Tax payer funds to disrupt the 2020 elections!??

They aren't shy - they are BRAGGING ABOUT IT.

 

 

34 posted on 05/02/2020 1:53:19 PM PDT by ransomnote (IN GOD WE TRUST)
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To: bitt
"Democratic-aligned political action committee advised by retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan..."

McChrystal? Where have I seen that name before?
Wasn't he the general that got fired for making unpolitic comments about Vice President "Joe Bite-me"?

How does such a fellow become a Democrat operative?


35 posted on 05/02/2020 1:54:40 PM PDT by BroJoeK ((a little historical perspective...))
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To: bitt

The general needs to be recalled to active duty, courts martialed, demoted and dishonorably discharged.


36 posted on 05/02/2020 1:58:29 PM PDT by Islander7 (There is no septic system so vile, so filthy, the left won't drink from to further their agenda)
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To: Gene Eric
Maybe it’s time to yank his ass out of retirement to help peel the potatoes.<<<

I was thinking a lifetime at Leavenworth..... being issued a OD green pick-ax and an endless supply of big rocks to covert to gravel...

37 posted on 05/02/2020 2:03:08 PM PDT by M-cubed (The MSM is now the 4th Branch of Government.....)
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To: glorgau

Trump is up 6 points in two weeks. The left are scared S@@tless.


38 posted on 05/02/2020 2:12:51 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Bring Back Bernie)
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To: bitt
deploy technology originally developed to counter Islamic State propaganda...The initiative is run by Curtis Hougland, whose received initial funding for the technology from DARPA

Is that legal?

39 posted on 05/02/2020 2:15:50 PM PDT by McGruff (Biden's still Hidin)
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To: bitt
excerpt: "The initiative is run by Curtis Hougland, whose received initial funding for the technology from DARPA, the Pentagon's research arm, as part of an effort to combat extremism overseas."

The technology from DARPA was tax-payer funded and intended for us military defensive measures, not partisan politics. It seems to me this is way out of line and possibly illegal.

40 posted on 05/02/2020 2:21:48 PM PDT by true believer forever (Fight the Attacks against Trump: PLANT YOUR FEET, LEAN INTO IT, BEAT IT BACK.)
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